Navy-supplied images and videos show the amphibious transport ship USS Portland performing "the first system-level implementation of an energy class semiconductor laser" to deactivate an aerial drone, the statement said.
The images show the laser emanating from the deck of the warship. Short video clips show what appears to be the engraving of the drone.
The Navy has not given a specific location for the LWSD test, only claiming it happened in the Pacific on May 16.
The power of the weapon was not revealed, but a 2018 report from the International Institute for Strategic Studies said it should be a 150-kilowatt laser.
"By conducting advanced sea tests against UAVs and small craft, we will gain valuable insight into the capabilities of the laser semiconductor weapon system demonstrator against potential threats," said Captain Karrey Sanders, commanding officer. from Portland, in the press release.
"With this new advanced capability, we are redefining warfare at sea for the Navy."
The navy says lasers, which it calls directed energy weapons (DEWs), can be effective defenses against drones or small armed boats.
"DEW's development by the Navy, like the LWSD, provides immediate benefits to combatants and provides the commander with greater decision-making space and response options," the statement said.
At the time, Lieutenant Cale Hughes, a laser weapons system officer, described their operation.
"It launches massive amounts of photons at an incoming object," said Hughes. "We don't care about the wind, we don't care about the range, we don't care about anything else. We are able to engage targets at the speed of light."
The Ponce was removed from service later that year.
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